That Look
by KDanceWriteDream
Summary: What happens when Callie meets a girl from her group that reminds her of Jude.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi everyone, so this is my first fanfiction, and I am really excited to see where this goes. The idea for this story had been floating around in my head for a while and I finally put it on paper! Hope you guys enjoy it!**

Chapter 1

Callie's POV***

I stare at my phone screen as I look through the pictures that I took this morning; Dr. Kodema's voice ringing through my ears when she calls on yet another poor victim to "talk about their story."

"How about you Gabby? How are you doing?" Dr. Kodema calls on a new girl that I have never noticed before. This should be interesting. The girl named Gabby stands up out of her red plaid chair that the library provided the group session with and clasped her hands behind her back. She had long brown hair with dark, glistening hazel eyes. Her eyes were sad, as where most of the young kids that come to group are. The girl was skinny as a pole, having barely any meat on her. She looked exactly like Jude did when we first came to the Foster's house. Bruises and scars were very visible on her collarbone, and I assume there were more on her body, but she was wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans.

"Okay. Um, my name is Gabby Sanchez, I'm twelve years old. I've been in the foster system since I was four, with my older brother who was twelve at the time. My parents died in a house fire when they were trying to get me and my brother out. " Gabby concludes, sitting back down and looks down at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"And your foster families? How have they been?" Dr. Kodema asks.

Without even a glance up to the group, she says, "Oh, their… great. My foster dad right now is the best thing that's ever happened to me." A tear slides down her cheek and onto the floor, hastily, she wipes it away. I stare at her for a while, watching tear after tear slide down her cheek, it was obvious she was lying, she wouldn't be crying if she wasn't. However, I can't help admire how smart this girl was, she was smart enough to tell a lie in order to stay in the house she was in now. You can't afford to tell the truth with the risk of Dr. Kodema going and telling your social worker and being forced to leave again, with another foster home under your belt and another note on your file. I can't help to feel bad for her, the same sad, scared look that Jude always had as we walked into each and every one of our foster homes, was plastered on her face.

"Alright, thank you Gabby. Okay everyone, good session today, I look forward to seeing you all next week." She smiles, and everyone gets up to leave, including Gabby who looks down at her digital watch, her eyes grow five sizes, and she starts to run out the door. I'm about to run after her but Dr. Kodema calls me over to her. I quickly walk over to her, while trying to keep an eye on Gabby but she ran around the corner, out of my sight.

"Callie- you really need to start participating in these group sessions if you want me to give you credit for your parole."

"The requirement for my parole is that I attend, not participate." She sighs as I start to walk out the door.

"I hope you participate next time!" she shouts weekly as I bolt out the door, and running down the street, searching for Gabby. After running for what feels like forever, I finally see her walking down 27th street.

"Hey! Hey Gabby! Wait up!" she whips her head around, her tear stained face staring into my soul. Before long, I have caught up to her.

"Who are you?" she asks timidly in a shy, quiet voice. I smile sadly at her, this poor girl is so scared that she can't talk loud enough for me to hear.

"My name is Callie. I'm in your support group, remember?"

Gabby looks at me for a minute and then says, "Yeah… you're the girl that's always on her phone right?"

I nod, "Why don't we go to the café and one of my family members can give you a ride home?" She shakes her head rapidly, "I need to get back home."

"Well where are you going? I can call my house and one of my family members can drive you there."

"It's not far, I can walk." She says, turning back around and starts walking down the street again.

"Where are you heading?" I ask once again.

"Tijuana… my foster dad and I live there."

"Over by San Ysidro?" She nods. "Wait. Didn't you say you lived with your brother?" at first, she didn't know what to say, but after a moment hesitation, she starts running down the street.

Stef's POV***

I sit at our kitchen counter, impatiently tapping my finger, waiting for Callie to text me to tell me her group is over. It's been over an hour since the session was supposed to end, and still, no response from her. Suddenly my phone starts ringing, a picture of Callie pops up on the caller I.D.

"Callie Adams Foster! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

"I'm sorry mom but I need somebody to come pick me and this girl Gabby up."

"Who is Gabby?" I asked, silently hoping that she was a friend from her group.

"She is a girl from group." Yes!

"A friend?"

"Sort of, I just need someone to come pick me up so we can find her and bring her back to her house."

"Where does she live?" I sigh, I'll just send Brandon over.

"Tijuana, over by San Ysidro." Callie says quickly, trying to get out the sentence before I said no.

"Callie…" I reprimand.

"I'm sorry! But she is twelve and she is walking their alone! How would you feel if Jude was walking back to-?"

"I'll send Brandon right over, where are you?"

"27th street. Thanks mom!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gabby's POV***

I continue to run away from that creep from group, the pavement stabbing through the thin soles of my too small sneakers and into my skin. Luckily, I have lots of experience running so I am quite fast. I continue walking until a black undercover police car pulls up behind me, and the girl, Callie, hops out of the passenger seat. Great.

"What do you want?" I ask her, slowly walking backwards, for some reason this girl scares me.

"I'm just here to give you a ride home. Tijuana is like five miles from here, my brother can drive you home," she says with a small smile.

"I told you I was fine. Leave me alone."

"I just want to drive you home, Gabby."

"Don't you know that's how people get kidnapped?"

"Come on Gabby, just let me drive you home." She glances down at her watch again, a look of fear clouds her eyes again.

"I have to go." She says quickly, and takes off down the street.

By the time I got home, my feet were bleeding and my heart was pounding out of my chest. I silently open the door, hoping that Vince was still in his hangover from last night. When I walk in, the familiar smell of alcohol and smoke hit me like a brick wall. Silently, I creep over to the stairs, trying not wake my foster father wherever he was. As I reach the top of the stairs and turn left toward my small, walk in closet sized room, a hand grips my ratty hair and yanks it back, I yelp out in pain, each little strand of hair ripping from my scalp as Vince yanks back harder.

"Where the _hell _have you been?" he growls, his alcohol breath suffocating me as I struggle to make him loosen his grip on my hair.

"I had group, I told you before I left!" I scream at him, tears starting to run down my face.

"You didn't tell me nothin' you pathetic little brat!"

I start feeling blood run down my head where the hair is being ripped out. My brother, Aaron told me never to beg for mercy, that begging was a weakness- but ever since what happened, I can't help it. "Please! Just leave me alone!" I plead, trying to hold back cries of pain.

To my surprise, Vince releases my hair, "Sure, anything for you sweetie," he smiles at my slyly, I start to walk back to my room when Vince kicks me sharply in the back.

"AH!" I scream in agony as I land on my wrist. I roll onto my stomach as Vince brings his foot down powerfully grinds his steel toed boot into my face.

"Next time you leave this house without permission, there will be hell to pay." He whispers into my ear, I whimper, curling into a ball, and cry myself to sleep.

Callie's POV***

"Callie, it's not your fault," Brandon consoles me in the car when we pull up to the house.

"Yes it is, I shouldn't have let her go home."

"There is nothing you could've done, Cal."

"Yes there was! I could've made her get into the car with me!"

"And what good would that have done?"

"Her being safe!"

"Safe from what?!" I suddenly realize that he had no clue why I was freaking out.

"Mom didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what? All she said that I had to drive you and a friend someplace."

"She was a girl from group. When a foster kid has to get home that fast, it usually doesn't end well."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Author Note: Thank you to everyone that Reviewed, Followed, Favorite, ext.. on the last two chapters. It really meant a lot to me and encouraged me to keep writing... Thanks again, I hope you enjoy the chapter :). **

Callie's POV***

After Mama's lasagna dinner, Marianna and I were sitting in our room doing our weekend homework before school tomorrow.

"What's wrong Cal? You were quiet all dinner," Marianna asks me from her bed.

"Nothing," I lie. To be honest, I couldn't get my mind off of Gabby at that house. My mind just keeps going back when my foster parents would beat Jude against my will.

"You're lying."

"No I'm not," I say, smiling. At first, Marianna and I hated each other, but now, we had a sisterly bond that I had never had before, and it was something that I really enjoyed.

"Come on, you can tell me."

"Alright. So at group today there was this girl there who looked pretty beaten up. So I offered to give her a ride home. So Brandon came to pick us up in _Tijuana_ might I add, she totally flipped out and ran. She reminded me so much of Jude, Marianna, when I couldn't help him. When we were younger, we had one family that would beat us. The foster dad, Tom, would beat me, while his oldest son, he would beat Jude." Mariana sighed, giving me an apologetic look, "They would… they would make us watch each other... the would make us watch each other get beaten." I finally manage. "The foster dad, he would hold me back and make me watch Jude cry in pain, his eyes pleading for help as our foster brother would throw him to the ground and kick him in the stomach. Finally, after about a month of living with them, and about twenty beatings, I took the risk of calling the cops and that night we were removed from the house; I never saw the brother or father again. That was the look I saw on this girl, pleading for help."

Mariana looked shocked, she knew that Jude and I have been in some pretty rough situations, but I never had gone into much detail. "I am so sorry Callie, I had no idea."

"Well, it is over and done with there is nothing I can really do about it now." I say, smiling slightly.

"But still, you and Jude shouldn't have had to go through that. I mean Jesus and I had some pretty bad foster homes but nothing compared to what you guys had to endure, and it's not like I remember any of it."

"I just don't know what I should do. I failed Jude many times and I just feel like I should try and protect this girl from whatever devil she is facing inside that house right now."

"You didn't fail Jude, Callie! How could you say that?!"

"I let him get hurt instead of me. I put him in danger when I was too weak to defend him."

"You did not fail him Callie. You were eight when you were put into the system. There wasn't much you could do; but you still did more than you should've been able too."

"Thanks Mari."

"Your welcome. So what are you going to do about this girl you met?"

"Nothing really, she is in the Foster System, there isn't really much we can do."

"Oh. Well I wish we could."

We could, and I will.

Gabby's POV***

Slowly, I open my eyes to reveal a moth eaten carpet next to my head. I was still in the hallway. The memories of last night start flooding back to me, group, Callie, coming home, Vince. I stand up, sharp pain shooting up my spine. I walk toward the bathroom and look in the mirror. A dark blue and purple bruise is forming on the left side of my face where Vince had stomped on me. Bloody red cuts were also imbedded in the bruise. I sigh, _just another reason for the kids at school to pick on me._ I quickly change into my only other pair of clothes that I owned. I carefully pull on my clothes, cringing when I hit a bruise or a healing cut. After putting my clothes on, I brush my hair out, collecting clumps of hair as I do so. I stare at my hideous self in the mirror, how will I ever got adopted if I look like this? My hideous face will never be kissed, my bruised body never hugged or comforted. My messy, thin hair never be combed. I will forever be alone.

Sighing, I go get my books off of the floor, it was time for school. Walking down the stairs, I see Vince sprawled out on the couch, drunk yet again.

"Vince, I have to go to school. I'll see you after." I say, loud enough so he can hear me through his clouded drunk man brain. He mumbles slightly, waving a hand at me to get away. _I wish I could get away._ I walk out the door, being cautious not to let it close to loudly. I start walking down the street and start my to mile trek to school.

After about an hour, I finally made it halfway to school. Between limping and barely being able to move, it took me as long it would normally take to walk the whole two miles. I glance down at my watch, it read 6:27 a.m., school started at 7. When I look back up at the steaming black pavement road, I see the same black van coming toward me. Great. When the car pulls up to me, I quickly walk around it, glancing into the driver's seat I see the same boy that was there yesterday. I cast my eyes downward, trying to avoid eye contact. I hear a car door slam and look behind me to see Callie coming toward me.

**Thanks for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again to everyone that has rated, reviewed, followed, and favorite the story... it means a lot. I won't be updating for a couple days, but I promise things are about to get interesting so bear with me. This chapter is sort of short, but longer ones are coming up so... enjoy!**

Callie's POV***

I run around the front of car, hoping to catch Gabby before she bolts. But I was too late, she was already fifty feet away from the car when I get there. I get back into the car and tell Brandon to drive ahead of her so I can get out a block her path. Brandon obeys and I hop out in front of her.

Gabby's POV***

This crazy lady is right in front of me, staring me down like those doctor at my very first doctor appointment as a foster child.

_Flash back_

_I lay on the operating table, five male doctors hover over my semi-naked body, a pair of underwear is the only article of clothing I have on me. The doctors write down each and every thing that they see in their notebooks. One of the doctors had a stick that he was using to poke every bruise, as I cried out in pain. A nurse came in and gave me five shots and a finger prick. I was alone with these creeps. Alone._

_End of Flashback _

"What do you want from me?!" I shout at her, then due to reflexes, quickly bring my arms up to my face to protect it.

"Gabby, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to see your face." I slowly uncover my face and look at her, tears starting to blur my vision. She was smiling at me again with that same smile. She uses her finger to move my face to the right so my bruise was more visible. For some reason, it comforted me.

"Gabby I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me truthfully okay?" I nod slowly, although I'm not going to tell her about what Vince did, he would kill me. Literally.

"Gabby, did your foster father give you that bruise?"

"NO!" I shout, a little too quickly. "I fell in the…shower! Yea I fell in the shower."

"Gabby, you seem to forget that I was a foster child for eight years, I know all of the excuses and I'm not buying it. And you promised me you would be honest, remember?" she asks me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I shrug her hand off, "How can I know I can trust you? Too many people have let me down Callie, I can't keep letting people into my life."

"I understand that Gabby, it took me awhile to accept other people besides my little brother, but once I did, I was so much happier. Please, tell me, did your foster father do this to you?"

I slowly nod my head, tears streaming down my face, I can't believe I am saying this.

"Thank you sweetie. Now I just have one last question, and then I will bring you to school."

I nod again, this better be good.

"Is your social worker's name Bill?" she asks me. I look at her strangley, is this girl stalking me?

"H- how did you know that?" I ask, slowly backing up, trying to get as much distance between us as possible.

"Gabby, sweetie it's okay. Bill is usually the social worker that works with siblings. He was me and Jude's social worker, and he was also my brother and sister's social worker. You said you have a brother so I just assumed he was yours."

"Yeah, it's Bill." She said to me.

"Thank you Gabby, I promise I won't let you down."

A sudden thought came to my head. "Wait. You're going to call Bill!" I scream, I can't believe I trusted her.

"Gabby, calm down , it's going to be okay. Gabby I have to call-."

"No! You don't have to call anyone, in fact, why don't you just leave me alone! It's not like he will do anything about it anyway." I shout back at her, I didn't ask her to come into my life! I was perfectly fine! I start to walk away, but Callie grabs my bad wrist, resulting in a cry of pain that escapes from my mouth.

She quickly releases my wrist and exclaims, "Gabby, I am so, so sorry, I didn't know your dad had hurt your wrist too. Gabby listen to me. I know that you don't want me to call Bill because then he will take you to another home and then just write another complaint down from your foster dad on your file. But listen to me, when I was little, I was looking after my brother, Jude, and I had nobody to look after me. I would _never_ regret the decision I made to protect Jude, however I always hoped that someone would be there for me. I need you to let me call Bill and let him take you out of that house. Please." She was basically begging for me to let her call Bill, however, I could see that she was serious so I nod. She grins back at me, not the small, sad smile that's she has been giving me, but a genuine, happy smile.

"Okay," she laughs, and pulls out her cell phone, "I'll call him right n-." she stops, a rusty white pickup truck is speeding towards us, and screeches to a hault next to Callie's van.

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone, sorry for the wait, but I have a short chapter for you guys... I may or may not post Chapter 6 later tonight, but I probably will. A special thanks to 'WrittingMagic' for the great advice and critics; it really helped me, and inspired me to change around some details. Thanks again to everyone that R&amp;R, followed, favorite, ext... on the last chapter. Here is Chapter 5. Hope you enjoy. **

Chapter 5

Callie's POV***

A rusted, white pickup truck screeches to a halt outside of Mom's van and a mid thirties man walked out of the truck, slamming the door behind him.

"Gabby, get in the truck." I warn, pushing her behind me and towards the van.

"No, I'll just go with him, so he won't hurt you!" Gabby shouts, walking back in front of me and into her foster father's path of pain.

"If it isn't the little, pathetic, rotten-."

"Stop." I speak up from behind Gabby, once again pushing her behind me.

"Callie," Gabby whispers from behind my back.

"I suggest you give me my foster kid back little girl, unless you want a visit from the police." He smiles slyly at me.

"She isn't going _anywhere _with you." I growl. Suddenly, Brandon comes out from the van and steps right next to me

"No she's not," Brandon says.

"Oh she's not? And what are you going to do about it?"" he says back, he swings and punches Brandon in the stomach.

"Stop! Stop it!" I shout, trying to distract him from taking another punch. Instead of punching Brandon, he punches me face. I fall to the ground leaveing Gabby out in the open. The man steps away from us and walks over to Gabby, wrapping his arm around her skinny waist and hoisting her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, causing her to scream in pain. Tears start to leave her eye. I jump up and try to grab Gabby from the man's beefy arms.

"You're hurting her!" I scream, trying to prey him off of Gabby, but it only made him hold on harder.

"Do you think I care?" he asks, laughing maliciously and shoves her into the truck, and drives away.

Gabby's POV***

I sit in the passenger seat of Vince's truck, frightful of what was going to happen when we got back to his house. Finally we pulled up to his house, he got out of the car and yanks me out after him. I follow him into the house while he drags me by my injured wrist. This isn't going to end well. Once we get into the house he pulls me up the stairs, making me fall and hit my head numerous times before throwing me to the ground on the tile bathroom floor.

"Things are going to change around here. I am going to tell you to do something, and your going to obey. I am your guardian, and you WILL obey me. Do you understand me?!" he shouts, spit flying from his mouth. When I don't answer he punches me hard, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" he shouts again, but before I can answer, her punches me again, and my world goes black.

Callie's POV***

"Brandon go faster!" I shout at him, Gabby is alone with that man in that house, and we are sitting here calmly driving back home listening to Maroon 5 as if everything was normal! I have already called and left Bill five messages, all saying that it was an emergency and he should call me back ASAP. Brandon insisted that we should call Mom, but I said we should wait until we got back home.

As soon as Brandon pulled into the driveway, I jumped out of the car, not even bothering to let him park it first. I run into the Victorian styled house and scream at the top of my lungs, "Mom! Momma!" they both come running from separate directions and almost colliding with each other.

"Callie what happened to your face?!"

"Mom there is this girl. She is in trouble and I need your help." I say, completely ignoring her question.

"Callie, sweetie, calm down. What is going on?" Lena asks me, sitting me down on the stairs.

"There is this girl in my support group, her name is Gabby and she is twelve years old. She is living with this foster dad who is abusing her and he caught her talking to me and so he took her back to his house and im afraid something really bad is going to happen!" I scream at them, hoping that they get the idea this is urgent.

"Alright Callie, calm down, I wil call the police and have some people sent over. What's the address?"

"I don't know, its somewhere in Tijuana, Gabby's last name is Sanchez and Bill is her social worker if that helps."

She nods, "Yes that is perfect, I will call the station and then I'll head over."

"No! I'm coming with you!" I shout back, standing back up from the staircase and walking over to Stef, and looking her in th e eyes. "She isn't going to want to go anywhere with you or anyone else. She was like me and Jude, Mom, when we didn't trust anyone but each other. I've been talking with her over the past couple of days and she trusts me. Please let me come with you."

Stef ponders this for a moment, unsure of what she should do. "Alright, you can come, but if there is weapons you will stay in the car, okay?" she asks me. I nod vigorously "Yes that's fine- we have to go!"

After Stef called in backup, we were racing towards Tijuana, searching for Gabby's house. Finally, when we saw the dump in which she was living in, the police barged in, with me close behind them.

"Get down on your knees! Get down on your knees now!" Mike, Brandon's dad shouts at Vince, his gun pointing right at his face.

"You are under arrest for child neglect and abuse, you have the right to remain silent anything you say will be used against you in the court of law." Mike finishes, I am running around the house, searching for Gabby. She was not on the first floor, so I run upstairs and I find her, sprawled out in the bathroom with blood dripping from her head, and her wrist bent in an awkward position. And she wasn't moving.

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it, if you review, follow, favorite, it would really mean a lot. Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Sorry for the wait everyone... I was pretty busy yesterday so I didn't get a chance to update. I will try to get Chapter 7 up later tonight to make up for it. Thank you again to WritingMagic for her advice and suggestions. Don't forget to review, favorite ext. if you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!**

Gabby's POV

I slowly open my eyes, a blinding fluorescent light shines above my bed, my hospital bed. Instantly, I jolt up, trying to sit up in my bed, only to find black traps restraining me to the bed. I glance over to the chair that usually sit in the far corner in a hospital room, and sure enough, there is Callie, asleep in the chair.

"Aaron! Get these off! Aaron! Aaron get these off of me!" I scream, my dry throat screaming in protest. I don't remember anything that has happened in the last twenty four hours, only remembering vaguely that Callie was talking to Vince before he took me home.

Instantly, she awakens, rushing to my bedside and grasping my hand, "Hey, shhhhh, its okay, calm down Gabby it's alright." she says to me, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Get these off of me! Get them off!" I shout, kicking and crying, trying to loosen them.

"Gabby, hey, Gabby, it's alright! Sh, its okay, I will get them off." She says, loosening the straps and then undoing them so they lay loose on the side of my bed.

Finally, I could breathe better. "Thank you," I mumble, letting the tears fall down my cheeks once again.

"How are you feeling?" Callie asks me.

"O-Okay, what happened to me?" I ask, still unaware at why I was strapped down to the bed.

"Your foster father knocked you out. Your wrist is broken but other than that, you had a minor concussion, and some really bad bruises. When they brought you into the hospital, you were struggling against one of the doctors so they had to strap you down. Don't worry, they arrested Vince, your safe now." Before Callie or I could say anything else, there was a soft knock on the hospital room door. Callie moves from her spot at my bedside, to answer it, only to be greeted by Bill.

"Hello Gabby, how are you feeling?"

"Just fine Bill thanks for asking," I respond bitterly through gritted teeth.

Ignoring my comment, Bill says, "I see you have removed the safety restraints," to Callie. "Are you feeling calmer, Gabby?"

"I wouldn't have been panicked if doctors weren't poking me with needles while I was half asleep," I spit back.

"You were asleep, that's why they did it."

"Half. I was _half _asleep." I remind him.

"Callie would you please excuse us," Callie nods, mumbling a short good bye to me, and leaves the room. "Gabby, you know what this means, correct?"

"What _what _means?"

"This is your third foster home in four months, there isn't much more that I can do for you other than find you a permeant placement."

"Okay?" I asked, confused.

"That was your last chance with a foster family, Gabby. I am sorry I didn't work out, and I know this one wasn't your fault, however, I think it's time to give you a little break. This way, you can focus on yourself, and your health, and live a semi-normal life for a while until the right family comes along and wants to adopt you. In the meantime, there is a great group home about a half hour from here called Girl's united. It's a great home housing about four girls, all around sixteen years old. I know you're a little younger but, the caretaker, Rita, said she would love to give you a place to stay until we can find you the right home."

"So you're just giving up on me?" I ask, glaring at him.

"Not at all, Gabby. You need some stability in your life. You have been through a lot of hard times these past few years and I think it is best to leave you alone for a while; give you some space. You can get your grades up, your body can heal, and you can live in a safe home. If a family pops up, great, if not, I will keep searching, but I am out of options."

I close my eyes and sigh.

"I'm sorry Gabby, this is my last option. Girls United is a great organization, Callie even went there before she was adopted. You will love it." He pauses and studies my face which was covered in nervousness and worry. "Just trust me this last time, Gabby." I look past Bill and to my small bag that held my few belongings. It was like each item I had lost or that had been stolen while I was in the system was another sign of how many times I had trusted Bill and he had failed me. Could I really trust him any longer? I have been moving from house to house for the past eight years. Could Bill be saying that I might actually get some normalcy in my life? That I might actually be safe for a little while before getting thrown back into the system? I finally nod, deciding that although the odds of me getting adopted now were slim to none, a safe house- for now- would be better than nothing.

"Great, you can get changed and grab your stuff and then we can head out." I push back the crisp sheets of the hospital bed and limp over to the chair which held my bag and my outfit. Quickly, I change and grab my bag, off to another foster home.

**Hope you enjoyed.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**For the purpose of the story, Girls United was never set on fire.**

Gabby's POV***

The ride to Girls United was silent, except for the occasional static that came from the radio. We pull up to a Victorian style house, flowers decorate the lawn along with trees and bushes. I follow Bill up the front steps and to the wooden door, a golden plaque hung beside it, reading: _United we stand; uniting girls since 1987. _

The door opened, revealing an older women with dark, curly, shoulder length hair and round glasses. "Hello, Gabby, I'm Rita, welcome to Girl's United. Please, come in." I follow the lady into the group home.

"Rita, thank you again for taking Gabby in on such sort notice. I also know that these aren't the normal circumstances of which you take girls, so, again, I thank you."

"It's not a problem Bill. I am glad we can provide Gabby with the help and support she needs."

"Aright. Well, thank you, again. See you soon Gabby," He pats me on my shoulder and leaves the house.

"Girls! Come meet Gabby!" Rita shouts. Girls come from different rooms of the house, staring at me and whispering to each other as they pass me and go into an attached room. Rita leads me into a living where multiple chairs were arranged in a circle. Everyone sits in their respective seats, leaving the only empty seat next to Rita next to me.

"Alright girls, you know how this works, we're going to go around the room and everyone is going to say something about themselves. How old they are, how long you've been here, _why _you're here. Becca why don't we start with you since you're going to be Gabby's roommate."

"Um, okay. I'm sixteen, I've been here for about six months. I'm in for drugs, using and selling. I'm doing better, I guess. I've been clean for the whole time I've been here so, I guess that's good."

"That's great Becca. Kiara, you're up."

"My name's Kiara, I'm fifteen years old, been here for eight months. In for gang stuff, drugs. My brother just got out of jail a couple months ago and he is trying to become my legal guardian." I flinch at the word brother, and give her a small smile.

"We're very happy for you Kiara."

"Alright Carmen, your turn."

"My name is Carmen, I'm seventeen. Been to Juvie for kidnapping, gangs, drugs. Been in this home for nine months."

"And I'm Cole, I'm sixteen. Been to Juvie for drugs and other stuff. I'm leaving soon so I am happy." Says the boy.

"Okay, Gabby. Now that you know a little about the girls, why don't you tell us a little about yourself." Rita orders more than suggests.

"Yea, what are _you _in for? What can you do when you're that young, what are you? Like eight?" Kiara asks, resulting in a reprimanding glare from Rita.

"I'm twelve," I spit back, "And I'm not 'in' for anything. I've never been to Juvie, never done drugs or anything like that."

"Then why are you here?"

"She is here for the same reason you girls are here," Rita starts, "Gabby has some things that she needs to come to terms with and she needs support. Just like all of you." I glance down at my clasped hands, suddenly realizing why Bill had sent me to this particular group home.

"What happened?" Carmen asks. I keep my eyes focused on my hands.

"Alright girls, well I think we are done for now. Becca why don't you take Gabby up to your room and show her around." I follow Becca up a staircase and into a hall way with bedrooms on one side and a bathroom on the other.

She leads me into a placid room with two twin beds covered with matching plaid sheets. There were two bureaus and a bookshelf on each side of the room.

"Your bed is over there," she says, pointing to a bed. "We wake up at six, breakfast is at 7:30. School starts at 8:15 and goes until three. All of the girls attend North Region Public school, so that's where you will be attending also. Dinner is at six and lights out at nine thirty." I glance at the digital alarm clock that sat on Becca's dresser, the blinking red numbers reading 5:32. Becca leaves the room, claiming she had to use the bathroom, leaving me alone in the room. I sit down on the bed, another foster placement.

The next morning, I sit in the Girl's united van, picking at my seven year old backpack that Bill brought over late last night. Michelle, the other lady that worked at Girl's United was driving us to school. The other girls were sitting together, making small talk and laughing occasionally as I sit in silence.

"You'll be great," Michelle says to me, looking at me from the rearview mirror. I nod glancing out the window again. Sometime later we pull up to a large school, with red bricks as its structure. Students walked around the school yard, some of them appearing to be the same age as me and some older. "The school is a middle and high school, but they are separated by the halls." She pulls a piece of paper from her bag. "Here is your schedule, and come find one of the girls if you need anything." I take the paper from her hand and hop out of the van, following the group of girls towards the front door. I see a sign that reads "Middle School Left, High School Right," with an arrow pointing in the correct direction. I depart from the group and follow other students to their first period classes. I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans, unsure of why I was so nervous about this school, I have done this a million times, why is this one any different? For some reason, there was a strange thought nagging at the back of my brain, warning me about something….

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Sorry for the wait! Here is Chapter 8, hope you enjoy!**

Gabby's POV***

The whole school day seemed to drag on, kids moving from class to class like zombies with no real emotions showing as they did so. I moved along with them, weaving in and out of students trying to find my next class. By the end of the day, I have collected three assigned reading books, and quite the load of homework that was due the next morning. After my seventh period science class, the dismissal bell rang, signaling the end of the day. With a sigh of relief, I neatly fold my homework assignment and place it in my bag and walk out the door. I spot white Girls United van from a distance, as I start towards it, a male voice speaks up from behind me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Gabriel Sanchez." Knowing the voice all too well, I whip my body around to face the boy. In front of me stood my old foster brother, Jacob. He starts to make is way toward me, quickening his pace when he notices that I am backing away. "Oh don't be afraid," he says, "I just want to talk." I back myself into a tree, further away from the van than I was when I started.

"The last time you wanted to 'just talk' I ended up with a broken arm." I snarl. At this comment he pins me to the tree, his arms holding mine down, not allowing me to move.

"I always knew you were more trouble than what you're worth. I saw you walking in with that group home. Are you really that pathetic? Are you really that lame that you live in a group home now? Nobody wants you Gabby? Huh? Does anyone want you?" I glare at him, my eyes becoming slits beneath my eye brows. He slaps me hard across the face. "ANSWER ME!"

"NO! I'm not pathetic. Somebody did want me and…" Before I can finish my sentence I hear a shout.

"Hey! You let go of her!" Kiara comes running towards us, the rest of the Girl's United close behind. Jacob slaps me across the face one last time before the girls pull him off of me. I stand in shock as they scream at him for hitting me and never to talk to me again.

The last thing he says before he walks away is, "Say hi to Aaron for me," with a smirk on his face. It takes every ounce of self-control to not tackle him right then on the spot. I glare at him, steam mostly likely coming from my ears. I start to run at him but Carmen holds me back.

"You keep your mouth shut about Aaron! You have no right to even speak of him!" I spit, settling down out of Carmen's restraining arms.

"Oh boo who," He says, pretending to be sad. "You poor baby, it's all your fault you know, if you didn't have a craving for dog food…" he trails off. Once again, I launch myself at him, all four of the girls grab me, and Kiara wraps her arms around me, not letting me move. She picks me up, and carries me back to the van, where Michelle was waiting, and getting ready to call the police.

Kiara looks at me, "I'm going to put you down, you aren't going to run, you are going to sit in your seat and buckle up so we can go back to the house, okay?" I nod into her shoulder. She places me on the grass and, reluctantly, I climb into the van.

"Gabby, what _happened _out there?!" Michelle asks along with expectant looks coming from the other girls. I look out the window, tears starting to blur my vision. I know I'm going to have to tell them eventually, probably today. Rita knows, Michelle most likely knows, but the girls don't know. They can't now, but they will know. Rita will _make _me tell them. I don't know if I can. Can I?

The ride back to the group home was quiet. The girls in the back were whispering quietly to each other and I sat there drowning myself in my own thoughts, which at times, can be the death of you. When we got back to the house, I followed everyone into the living room.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Afternoon Group session, didn't Becca tell you that we have group sessions after school?" Rita says, entering the room and sitting down in her chair.

I glare at Becca, "No, she didn't mention anything," Becca tries to hide her smirk but is unsuccessful."

"Alright, girls, take a seat and we can get started," Rita continues, ignoring my statement. Everyone take a seat, I sit in between Cole and Michelle.

"Would anyone like to start?"

All three girls and Cole, raise their hand. "Kiara, you can start," Michelle says.

Directing her question to me, Kiara says, "I have three questions for Gabby, who was that guy, why were you flipping out on him, and who is Aaron?" I glance down at my shaking hands. I guess I should've expected this. I stay silent for a while, until Rita breaks my trance, "Gabby? Care to explain?" I take a deep breath. I really am not comfortable with this. However, I'm just going to be sitting here forever until I say it, so I might as well say it.

"Jacob was my old foster brother. And Aaron, Aaron was my brother." If the group was surprised our concerned, they didn't show it. Their faces stayed the same, telling me to continue.

"Uh, so when my parents died, I was four and Aaron was twelve. We had been through a billion homes, always together. He would always protect me, take beatings for me, and make sure I always had at least a little food. We were moved to Jacob's house when I was eight, and Aaron was sixteen. The only good thing about that house was we got food. The parents were never home, except Jacob always was. The parents could care less what happened to us, in fact, they were happy if Jacob did something to us. I was washing the dishes one day and a glass water pitcher fell out of my hands and shattered on the floor. Jacob came in and started yelling at me and then started beating me, it was one of the worst beatings I had ever experienced before. Aaron tried to stop him, but he wasn't strong enough and Jacob kept throwing him to the floor. Finally, Aaron broke one of his number one rules and called the police. The police came and Jacob told them that it was _Aaron _that beat me because I was ungrateful for the loving and caring house and started breaking their stuff. Bill later came and that night, Aaron and I were no longer a package deal." The room was in stunned silence.

"What happened to him?" Cole asks.

"He died a month later."

**Hope everyone enjoyed :) don't forget to fav, follow, or review if you enjoyed and/or have a suggestion! All of those things makes me want to update more and more! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Thank you to everyone's continued support on the story. Hope everyone enjoys that chapter! Thanks for reading!**

Gabby's POV**

_Previously:_

"_Uh, so when my parents died, I was four and Aaron was twelve. We had been through a billion homes, always together. He would always protect me, take beatings for me, and make sure I always had at least a little food. We were moved to Jacob's house when I was eight, and Aaron was sixteen. The only good thing about that house was we got food. The parents were never home, except Jacob always was. The parents could care less what happened to us, in fact, they were happy if Jacob did something to us. I was washing the dishes one day and a glass water pitcher fell out of my hands and shattered on the floor. Jacob came in and started yelling at me and then started beating me, it was one of the worst beatings I had ever experienced before. Aaron tried to stop him, but he wasn't strong enough and Jacob kept throwing him to the floor. Finally, Aaron broke one of his number one rules and called the police. The police came and Jacob told them that it was Aaron that beat me because I was ungrateful for the loving and caring house and started breaking their stuff. Bill later came and that night, Aaron and I were no longer a package deal." The room was in stunned silence._

"_What happened to him?" Cole asks. _

"_He died a month later."_

"He died?" Kiara asks, not believing me.

"Yeah. He and his foster family were driving home one night and they got in a car accident, none of them survived."

"Can I be excused?" I shout suddenly, before anyone can say anything else.

"Sure, sweetie," Michelle says softly.

I stand from my chair, rushing to my room, hastily wiping tears from my face. I lay face down upon my bed, trying to block out any noise coming at me. Without success, I hear someone come in and sit on Becca's bed.

"I don't feel like talking." I snap, leaving my face buried in my pillow.

"Alright, don't talk, just listen." I hear Rita say. "I don't usually have one on one conversations with you girls except for in group because I encourage you guys to help each other out, but I felt that I should talk to you about what you said down there." She pauses for a moment, letting it sink in. "That took real courage; saying what you said in group, especially this early. You've only been here for a day and you already told half of your story. I want to let you know, Gabby, it wasn't your fault." I shoot up and glare at her, tears still pouring down my face.

"It wasn't my fault? You're saying that Aaron getting removed from the house because _I _broke the glass pitcher and because _I _got beaten isn't _my _fault? Are you serious?! If I hadn't left the soap on the pitcher when I picked it up then it wouldn't have slipped and fallen on the floor. If I didn't step on a piece of shattered glass then I could've picked it up faster. It was my fault that Aaron and I got separated: we were a package deal! He was going to turn eighteen in two years and age out of the system! He was going to adopt me! We were going to be a family! A family that I never had! And I ruined that! It was my fault! I should've been me inside that car instead of him."

"Hey! Don't talk like that. You aren't worthless Gabby. You deserve a life, and a family, and a _second chance_. That's what Girls United is about, _second chances._ You get to undo what happened a month after your brother died, Gabby. And you and me both know what happened. You can fix your fate. You can get adopted. I _know _you will get adopted. You are such a bright, kind, caring young girl. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want you," Rita finishes, a small smile on her face.

I stare at her. "I miss him so much."

The Fosters Household:

Stef's POV***

"Do you think we did the right thing, sending Gabby to Girls United?" I ask Lena as we lay in bed.

"Stef, we don't have the room, or the money. Yes I feel extremely horrible about sending her to a group home, however it's safer than sending her back to the foster system."

"I'm just glad Bill listened to our recommendation about sending her to Rita. I swear that lady can work wonders." I say.

"Mm, like our Callie Girl? Did you see how much she cared about Gabby? I mean it was like she was Jude. I've never seen her act like that since that first night." I nod.

"Maybe we should go visit her on family day, I mean Callie might want to and the rest of the kids can meet her. It's the least we can do after not letting her stay with us." Lena looks up at me,

"I love it when you go all soft."

Jude's POV***

I walk into Callie and Mariana's room, my pajama bottoms dragging against the hardwood floor. I knew Callie wouldn't say no, but this hasn't happened in a while.

I knock on their door slowly pushing it open. Both girls lay on their beds, Callie writing in her journal and Mariana doing something on her laptop.

"Hey, Bud, what's up?" Callie asks me, propping herself up on her elbow.

"Um, can I, can I sleep with you tonight?" Callie instantly sits up, going into protective sister mode.

"Are you okay? Did something happen at school today?" She asks worriedly.

"Yeah, nothing happened. It's just, when I saw Gabby today, she didn't have anyone with her, and I always had you. So, I don't know, I just wanted to be with you."

She smiles at me. "Of course, buddy." She puts her notebook away and pulls the cover down, motioning for me to join her. I curl up in the crook of her arm, we were lucky, we have a family.

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